Resource Library

COVID-19 Update: The John T. Gorman Foundation is curating a list of resources, emerging best practices, and innovative ideas from across the country to help local organizations serve vulnerable Mainers during the coronavirus outbreak. To access those resources, visit www.jtgfoundation.org/resources/covid-19 or enter Covid-19 in the keyword search. Those results can be further focused by using the “Filter by” menu above to filter by population type (Young Children, Older Youth, Families, and Seniors) or by clicking the following links: childcare, education, food security, housing, rural areas, and workforce.

The John T. Gorman Foundation strives to be data-driven and results based and seeks to promote information and ideas that advance greater understanding of issues related to our mission and priorities. In our effort to promote these values, we offer these research and best practice resources collected from reputable sources across the country. The library also includes briefs and reports the Foundation has commissioned or supported, a listing of which can be found here.

Stay-at-home orderspose a unique health challenge for families living in substandard housing, including those that have fallen into disrepair because of lack of investment. Because staying at home is the best chance to slow the pandemic’s spread, policymakers at the federal, state, and local level can step in to ensure all homes are safe for families, the author argues. #covid-19 #housing

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests that SNAP benefits are an effective economic stimulus that policymakers can use again during this economic crisis due to coronavirus. Not only does it support low-income families, but these families generally spend benefits soon after receipt, so the money flows into the economy quickly. The author recommends a 15 percent increase in the maximum SNAP allotment, which can be implemented right away. #covid-19 #foodsecurity

To help inform policy decisions that could help working parents affected by COVID-19, Rand examined the U.S. DOL's Current Population Survey (CPS) as well as the 2020 “CARES Act” and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The CPS data gave the Rand Corporation insight into what the childcare landscape looks like and the challenges faced by parents. #covid-19 #childcare

Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking looks at how placemaking practitioners—from those managing public spaces in large cities to those supporting small businesses in rural communities—have adapted their work amid the coronavirus pandemic to meet residents’ immediate needs, while staying aligned with their mission of place-based inclusion and long-term well-being. #COVID-19

Community colleges across the country are rapidly adapting to new circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and though campuses and state systems must make individual policy decisions, they face some common challenges. The Maine Community College System has encouraged continued education by providing short-term, free online health care training programs to recently laid-off residents. #COVID-19 #education

Most people receiving SNAP benefits are not able to use them for online shopping, and therefore must go to a store in person. Leaving the home puts these low-income folks at an increased risk for exposure to coronavirus. Despite logistical challenges, changing SNAP rules to allow for online and delivery options as some states have already done is a promising solution. #covid-19 #foodsecurity

Given the multitude of rural spaces in Maine, the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire has highlighted some of the most recent research on diagnoses, experiences, and implications of #COVID-19 in rural places, including Maine.

Sheltering-in-place is not easy for those who are homeless, who are already at an increased risk for coronavirus. States like California and New York, especially New York City, are booking hotel rooms to house homeless people and those recently released from jail under emergency orders. As hotel rooms are often vacant during this time, this is a much safer solution than homeless encampments, which are prone to outbreaks. However, hotels are not a panacea: for instance, the Concord, New Hampshire welfare office is struggling to find hotels that will allow homeless residents, particularly for fear of heightened COVID-19 risk and property damages (which local welfare office vouchers do not cover). #covid-19 #homelessness

Several communities are leveraging volunteer networks to provide grocery and supply shopping services to older residents or residents with disabilities during coronavirus outbreak. In Bennington, Vermont, one such effort is coordinated by the Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging, and in Swanzey, New Hampshire, a local youth professional network and rugby club have partnered as volunteers. #covid-19 #foodsecurity

The coronavirus pandemic presents a time for us to rethink how we address our communities in crisis. As #COVID-19 exposes the frailties of our health, welfare, and justice systems, there is an opportunity to restructure them after the pandemic subsides, the authors argue.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated social and economic stressors can undermine children’s development and well-being. The good news is that over four decades of research on resilience shows that protective factors can buffer children from harm and increase the chances they adapt positively to adversities such as the #COVID-19 pandemic.